雅思阅读

📖 Reading Passage

The concept of 'environmental resilience' has gained traction in ecological studies, referring to an ecosystem's capacity to absorb disturbances while maintaining its fundamental structure and functions. Unlike mere resistance, which implies an unchanging state, resilience emphasizes adaptive recovery. For instance, a coral reef that bleaches under thermal stress but subsequently regains its symbiotic algae demonstrates resilience, whereas a reef that remains permanently degraded does not. Research suggests that biodiversity plays a pivotal role in enhancing resilience, as species-rich systems often possess functional redundancies that buffer against environmental fluctuations. However, human-induced pressures, such as overfishing and pollution, can erode these buffers, pushing ecosystems past critical thresholds. Consequently, conservation strategies increasingly focus on fostering resilience rather than solely preventing change, acknowledging that some degree of disturbance is inevitable in a rapidly altering world.